The Goddess of Ruin
by Lucin
Summary: When Sauron steals Serenity's and the inners' star seeds, and Uranus and Neptune disappear mysteriously, it is up to Hotaru to find the star seeds and restore the balance of the worlds.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Once again I am dreaming of the same place; the samecrystal castle rising from the green grounds of the beautiful island. With every step my bear feet touch the dead waters of the sea and carry me closer to the shore. Everything is peaceful and silent. Silent like death; like the last breath that leaves the body and travels into the unknown.

My eyes do not recognize the shapes and the images they see, and yet, I know where I am. I walk through the endless silver halls. I am searching for her. The only person I have ever called a family. I can barely feel the shine of her star seed. It is fading away with every step, and I try to hurry.

I enter another silver hall, and there, in the middle, I see a white crystal throne. The bodies of her senshi are lying under her feet, as if they were trying to protect her from someone or something. They are also fading. I realize that their star seeds were taken. I look at her fading form. She is too weak to even look at me. Her teary eyes are frozen and in their debts I see a face unknown to me. He is holding all the star seeds of the senshi and is looking at me. I can not see his features. His image is blurring consumed by dark flames of fire. They are everywhere and soon his whole image turns into one big flame. I look intently and realize that it's an eye. It's a lidless eye that is laughing at me. I cannot take my eyes off of it. It is calling me. I resist and slowly it dissolves into nothingness leaving only the princess and me in the silver hall. I try to run to her but my feet won't move. I try to call her name, but suddenly I am mute. She is fading and I cannot do a thing to stop it. As the last traces of her existence are fading into the abyss of time she whispers something to me, and I wake up".

"Well Miss Tomoe, that's a very interesting dream, but our time is up. I'll see you next Monday same time." Janice, my shrink put away her notebook and smiled at me as if encouraging me to leave.

"I'll see you next Monday, Janice". I took my bag, put on my black hoodie and walked out of the building.

I looked at the dark gray sky above and instinctively wrapped my arms around me. It was going to rain. I started in the direction of the nearest subway station. Half way to the station it started to rain heavily. I quickly put on my hood and started running as fast as I could. The heavy raindrops were beating me mercilessly and in the darkness it was hard to make out anything, anyone. A couple of times I bumped into other figures running home or into some kind of a shelter.

I was so focused on reaching my destination which was already just around the corner, that I did not see the large truck heading my way. The last thing that crossed my mind was the ironic situation I was going to be in. The senshi of death killed by a truck.


	2. The illboding news

Chapter 2

The ill-boding news

* * *

After so many centuries of wars you think one gets used to the shocking waves of pain that attack your body mercilessly, but obviously not me. The pain was so intense that I could not even pinpoint its source. Was it my back? My arms? My head? Was it my soul?

The pain was everywhere. It was blocking any other emotion as well as all thought from my head. I did not know where I was. Was I dead or alive? Though I had a vague idea of falling, falling, falling, and falling into the darkness, which seemed surprisingly too light for my tired eyes.

I tired to move my right hand and slowly spread my fingers and touched what was underneath me.

Solid ground. I suppressed the dizziness and slowly sat up, opening my eyes. I was in the same silver hall, with the same crystal throne resting in the middle of it. There on the throne was the translucent image of my princess.

"Serenity" I ran towards her.

Serenity opened her eyes and looked at me. There was no surprise in her eyes, only sadness.

"Hotaru". I heard her voice even when her lips did not part.

"Hotaru. Help them"

"Whom?"

"I do not have much time left, so please listen carefully. In Middle Earth are the star seeds of the inner senshi as well as my own. You have to find them and free them. Sauron the evil force that took them will be soon destroyed. If he is destroyed and our star seeds remain in that world, the balance will be broken and Middle Earth will be destroyed itself. Find the star seeds and take them to Galaxia. We will be reborn, when our shine returns to us."

"How will I find the star seeds?"

"Follow your own it will guide you to them."

The princess was almost transparent now. I tried to embrace her with my arms but the only thing left in her place were little shiny stars that quickly dissolved in to the light surrounding me.

"Serenity" I cried hugging the last little stars to my self as tears started to run freely down my cheeks.

"Serenity" I whispered.

"Find the wizards. Release us." The echoes of her voice died with the last shimmering star, lying in my palm.

I could not believe it. She was gone and so were my friends. How could this be? Why did not I feel this crisis? Why wasn't I there, and where were the outers? Millions of questions raced through my mind. I was scared, confused and lonely. Once again I was left alone but I would not let it happen again. I would find my friends and free them. I would find this Sauron person whoever he may be and destroy him, for taking my family away from me even if I had to use my deadliest attack, but first of all I had to find the outers, and I knew exactly where at least one of them was.

I cast a last glance at the silver hall, vowing to find and release the senshi. Then I closed my eyes concentrating on the Time Gates and teleported away.


	3. The Time Gates and their Guardian

**Chapter 3**

**The Time Gates and their Guardian

* * *

**

The place was gloomier than usual if that was even possible. The dark clouds of fog were dancing their usual slow dance. Like millions of snakes they enveloped my body the moment I teleported onto this secluded area. I couldn't see anything, but that did not stop me. I had been here enough times to know where the Time Gates were with my eyes closed.

I walked for some time concentrating on Setsuna's wave, and soon it became warmer and I opened my eyes in front of the heavily ornamented Gates of Time. Setsuna was standing on her usual spot a little left or right; depending from what side you looked at her, of the Time Gates, with her Time Staff in her right hand.

I hadn't seen her for 8 years, and during this time period she had aged considerably. Her once shiny green hair was completely white now. A fact that surprised me to no end as the Guardian of Time is immortal she is not supposed to age. Was it because of the recent events in Crystal Tokyo or the Evil called Sauron had somehow laid its hand upon her as well. I screwed up my eyes and upon closer inspection noticed something strange about her staff as well. The Garnet Orb was missing.

"Hotaru". She greeted me with a whisper.

"Setsuna. What happened?"

"Sauron attacked Crystal Tokyo.

His dark waves practically destroyed the city killing everyone. The senshi tried to protect the princess, but he took their star seeds as well as the princess'. I couldn't do anything as I was here trying to eliminate the gaps in the time flow, that were created by his invasion."

"What about Uranus and Neptune? Why didn't they help? Where are they Setsuna"?

"They are in Middle Earth. But do not trust hope, it will deceive you.

Here. Take this key. When you enter the Time Gates you will find yourself in a white hall with numerous doors of different sizes and shapes. The key will open the door leading to Middle Earth. Be careful when you reach there. No one can tell where and when you will appear."

I looked skeptically at the small key that could easily be mistaken for a rotten piece of wood, but when things involved Setsuna nothing could be surprising.

I looked at Setsuna hoping that she would say something else. Tell me what had happened to her talisman? Had Souron taken it away?

Show me the exact location of the star seeds or where the outers were, or tell me about this wizards that I had to find. Were they on our side or on the other side? Was there even an our side in this strange world called Middle Earth? Maybe there were two sides fighting against each other, who would equally consider me as an enemy? Questions seem to enter my mind repeatedly from some fathomless well.

I didn't know which one to ask and then suddenly I remembered something that she had said. "Do not trust hope it will deceive you" I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, but it was already too late. She had raised her staff and was opening the Time Gates.

"Hurry. I cannot keep them open for too long."

I looked at her, and smiled. Gripped the small distorted key in my palm and started walking towards the Gates.

"Hotaru." Setsuna's whisper nearly gave me a heart attack.

"Yes. Setsuna mama."

"Your senses might deceive you. Trust only your star seed."

"Thank you Setsuna."I thanked her. Though I had no idea what she was talking about.

"I will find the star seeds and I will find your talisman"

The Time Gates slowly closed sealing the path Hotaru had gone through. Everything returned to its normal routine, and the only thing disturbing the slow dance of the foggy clouds was the whisper of the Guardian of Time.

"Thank you firefly, and may Selene and Chronos guide and protect you through your journey"

I stepped through the Time Gates and was momentarily blinded by a white shine, which slowly became tolerable as my eyes started to adjust to the whiteness of this place that I was in.

All around me were endless rows of doors hovering a couple of inches above the ground. To tell the truth I was starting to panic. How was I going to find THE one door that would lead me to my destination? I took a couple of deep breaths and calmed down, deciding to think rationally. I opened my fist and looked at the ugly small key. According to its appearance I needed a small wooden door. I looked at the rows of doors in front of me. The first row consisted of tall beautifully adorned golden doors. I decided to exclude this row.

The second row consisted of silver doors decorated with all kinds of jewels. I walked further. The doors in the third rowwere made of iron and reminded me of some medieval castle's doors. I continued walking through the endless rows excluding one after another for this or that reason. Finally I reached one that consisted of small and deformed pieces of wood hanging in the air. I felt my star seed's warmth flicker telling me that I was close. I decided to follow Setsuna's advice and shutting all other senses, focused on my star seed's wave and started to walk between the small doors. A couple of minutes later I felt the familiar warmth spread through my whole body. I stopped in front of a small piece of wood that had the exact pattern of a rotten wood as the key in my hand. I looked intently at this masterpiece and found a small crack that distantly reminded of a keyhole.

I held my breath and slowly pushed the key into the keywhole. The key fit the crack perfectly and encouraged by this I turned it. For a moment nothing happened. Then suddenly the door started to shake. The old wooden bark started to dissolve leaving in its place a beautiful golden door. "Well, not everything that shines is gold or in this case, not everything that does not shine isn't gold." I muttered. The golden door started to open slowly and without any warning I got sucked into a warp of time and space, that would hopefully take me to Middle Earth.


End file.
